Subject: This little beauty made my day Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India. July 6, 2017 4:52 am Dear bugman, I think this is a pollen beetle but since it’s too small, I cannot find a correct match. What do you think this is? Signature: Gautam dikshit

Soft Winged Flower Beetle, we believe

Dear Gautam, Sometimes when dealing with sightings from countries that do not have an extensive online database of insects, it is difficult to make an exact identification. India does not tend to have many sources for online identification, but based on your Beetle’s similarity to North American Soft-Winged Flower Beetles in the family Melyridae, which is well represented on BugGuide, we believe that we have narrowed down the family.

Subject: Bug in South Africa Location: South Africa March 3, 2017 5:05 am Hello Bugman! We found this bug in South Africa in Maize. But I have no idea what bug it could be. Maybe you can help me. Tank you very much!! Signature: Simon

Spotted Maize Beetle

Dear Simon, We believe we have correctly identified your Beetle as a Spotted Maize Beetle thanks to the Beetles in the Bush site where it states: “One of the most common insects encountered in agricultural fields in Argentina is Asylus atromaculatus (spotted maize beetle). This native species can also be found further north in Bolivia and Brazil, and as implied by its common name it is frequently encountered in maize fields. The species, however, is also common on soybean, on which the individual in the above photo (and mating pair in the previous post) were found. Looking like some strange cross between a checkered beetle (family Cleridae) and a blister beetle (family Meloidae), it is actually a member of the Melyridae (soft-wing flower beetles)—placed with the Cleridae in the superfamily Clerioidea.” Elsewhere on Beetles in the Bush, it states: “For all their ubiquity, however, their economic impact seems more nuisance than substantive. Corn breeders complain about interference during tasseling, and larval feeding on seeds during or just after germination seems to be on the rise due to increased use of conservation tillage, but overall this species seems to be more bark than bite.” On the A Tale Unfolds site it states: “Astylus atromaculatus is a species of beetle in the family Melyridae. It is variously known as the Spotted Maize Beetle, or Pollen Beetle. It is indigenous to Argentina and neighbouring countries, but has been accidentally imported into various other regions such as the warmer regions of North America and much of Africa, where it has become invasive.” We also found a posting on iSpot.

Subject: What’s this Location: Essex, UK May 1, 2016 10:09 am Hi, Lots of these in my house and curious as to what they are. Started appearing two weeks ago Thanks Signature: R

Soft Winged Flower Beetle

Dear R, At first glance we assumed this was a Burying Beetle or Sexton Beetle, until we realized the antennae were quite different. After a bit of searching on NatureSpot, we identified your Soft Winged Flower Beetle in the family Malachiidae as Anthocomus fasciatus. According to NatureSpot: “Despite its size the adult is a predator of even smaller insects. The larvae of Anthocomus are predatory on the larvae of wood-boring beetles.”BioLib also has a nice image.

Subject: Soft-Winged Flower Beetle Anthocomus equestris Location: Toledo, OH April 5, 2014 12:21 pm Pretty sure I’ve ID’d this guy correctly, but didn’t see him on your website so wanted to shoot him your way if you’d like an example! Found in my bathroom in all places, but it’s the start of the buggin’ season over here in Ohio so I was excited either way! Thrilled to be able to start posting on my own bug blog again, it’s been a long winter. Unfortunately, the find was at 5am while I was getting ready for work, so I didn’t have a chance for more impressive photos. Thanks! Signature: Katy

Soft-Winged Flower Beetle

Dear Katy, Are agree with your identification of this Soft-Winged Flower Beetle, Anthocomus equestris, and we are thankful that you have been considerate enough to provide your image for our archives. We disagree with your assessment that this is not an impressive image, but you are a much better judge of your own photographic capabilities. The reason we really like your image is that is shows both dorsal and ventral views in the same image, and you can compare the ventral reflection to this image on BugGuide. According to BugGuide, this is a nonnative species because it is: “native to Eurasia, adventive in NA (ON + e. US south to NC).” This does not indicate if it is an invasive exotic species that is problematic in its introduced range, so we attempted additional research. According to Amazing Nature: “This one is a flower beetle that eats herbaceous plants as larvae and probably pollinates as an adult while feeding on pollen.” Helen Fields Freelance Science Journalist also had an indoor sighting earlier this year, and we wonder if perhaps this Soft-Winged Flower Beetle hibernates indoors to escape the harsh winter temperatures. Another indoor sighting this year was documented by The Urban Pantheist who writes: “this beetle is a Eurasian import–insects from that continent had several millennia of practice living among humans and their buildings, and are often brought to our continent without the predators and parasites that keep them in check. Therefore, when a North American finds a small arthropod in their house there’s a better than even chance that it’s a species from across the pond.”

Subject: aussietrev possibly Criocerinae? Location: Queensland, Australia March 19, 2014 2:40 pm Hi guys, Watering the garden late yesterday and spotted this tiny guy foraging on my Kalamata Olive tree. About 8mm long and only managed this one shot before it dropped off into the grass and was gone. I’ve never seen one before and the only thing I can think of is a Narrow Necked Leaf Beetle but I cannot find any matching photos for ID. What do you think? Signature: aussietrev

Rove Beetle, we believe

Hi Trevor, Our first impression is that this looks like it must be a Rove Beetle in the family Staphylinidae, a very underrepresented family on the Brisbane Insect Website.According to BugGuide, the members of the family are: “Thin, active beetles with shortened elytra that do not, at first glance, resemble beetles.”

Subject: California Rove Beetle Location: Laguna Beach, CA November 13, 2013 11:16 am I knew EXACTLY who to turn to for an unknown California bug! hese cool, really small rove beetles (I’m pretty sure that is what they are) were common on the rock faces above the ocean in Laguna Beach, CA. I’ve tried to pin a name on them but have had no luck. So any help with an ID is much appreciated. Dave Signature: Dave Moskowitz – Bug Addiction and National Moth Week

Intertidal Soft Winged Flower Beetle

Hi David, How nice of you to think of us for your identification, and we are pleased we did not disappoint you. The only way we managed to identify your wingless Intertidal Soft Winged Flower Beetle, Endeodes collaris, or a closely related species, is because it was also described on BugGuide as being like a Rove Beetle. According to BugGuide, the genus is found in the “Pacific coast of NA” and the habitat is listed as “intertidal zone, dry rocks & sand, sometimes moist seaweed.” Somehow, a wingless Soft Winged Flower Beetle sounds a bit oxymoronic to us.

That is awesome! Thanks! Amazing, how quickly you found it! Hoping all is great on your end! Dave

You are most welcome Dave. Over the years, we have learned that the right key words can lead to to an answer quickly on the internet. We looked up the names of the recognized marine ecosystem zones, and “intertidal” turned out to be the word that found us the image that led to the identification.